Free Republic

If a Republican wins the White House, the military prison at Guantanamo Bay will almost surely be kept open for the foreseeable future. That is, unless Rand Paul nabs the GOP nomination. Yet again, the senator from Kentucky has scouted out a position on a national-security issue that makes him an outlier, at least among senators running for president. That was clear Monday after Marco Rubio introduced two amendments that would extend the use of the prison: one to prohibit funding to programs that would help close the facility, and another that sets a series of tough ground rules before...

The United States may be about to remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, but some Cuban-Americans see that as a grave mistake. Carlos Eire, the T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History & Religious Studies at Yale University and author of a memoir about growing up during the Cuban Revolution, Waiting for Snow in Havana, pointed out that Cuba has had two illegal arms shipments seized in the past year and a half, one to North Korea, the other to China. In addition, he said: • It has deals with Iran (including sending nuclear experts to Iran); It...

The Rawlings-Blake administration plans to pay Freddie Gray's family $6.4 million as a settlement for civil claims in his arrest and death — an extraordinary payment in a lawsuit against city police. The settlement — which is expected to be approved at Wednesday's meeting of the city's spending panel — will be paid out over two years, according to the mayor's office. The five-member board is controlled by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. The payment is larger than the total of more than 120 other lawsuits brought against the police department for alleged brutality and misconduct since 2011. Gray, 25, died in...

A proposed $6.4 million settlement in the death of Freddie Gray would "resolve all civil claims related to the city of Baltimore, the Baltimore Police Department, individual Baltimore police officers, and any other persons or institutions who might be deemed responsible for the death of Mr. Gray," the city said in a news release Tuesday. The city's law department will submit the proposal to the city's Board of Estimates on Wednesday, the city said.

BALTIMORE – The city of Baltimore says it has reached a $6.4 million wrongful death settlement with the family of Freddie Gray. Gray died in April after he suffered a critical spine injury while he was in police custody. Six Baltimore police officers face criminal charges stemming from Gray's death. Gray, who was black, was critically injured April 12 in the back of a prisoner transport van after he was arrested.

A disturbing trend in recent weeks has convinced Americans that an all-out assault is being waged on our men and women in uniform. From a gas station murder in Houston, to a shooting ambush in New York City and a slaying in Illinois, police officers across the country are afraid to do their jobs because it is apparent that the people they pledged to protect are turning on them. The majority of Americans are not blind to the new dangers police face. A Rasmussen Reports survey reveals that 58 percent would agree a war on police is being waged in the...

A little-noticed lawsuit brought by a Maryland man challenging the state's contorted congressional districts will be heard this fall by the Supreme Court — where it has the potential to open a new line of constitutional attack for opponents of gerrymandering. Stephen M. Shapiro, a former federal worker from Bethesda, argues that the political map drawn by state Democrats after the 2010 census violated the First Amendment rights of Republicans by placing them in districts in which they were in the minority, marginalizing them based solely on their political views. The issue before the Supreme Court is whether a lower...

Recently, a Harley Davidson dealership in the Washington DC area announced it was sponsoring a Nation of Islam rally led by Louis Farrakhan on October 10th called “Justice Or Else.” The dealership’s website said it was promoting its location as a rallying point for black bikers attending the rally. Not surprisingly, that didn’t sit to well with other members of the biking community who don’t subscribe to the Nation of Islam’s message.The dealership, located in Fort Washington, MD is owned by Joyce and Thomas Moorehead who also own a BMW/MINI dealership in Sterling, MD. Thomas Moorehead is the Chairman...

Two Labor Day Polls Portend ‘Splodey Heads For The Anti-Trump Advocates…. Earlier today Gallup released a poll showing that Trump is the most heavily favored candidate (63% Approval Rating) amid Republicans. A devastating defeat for the establishment GOP (GOPe) who are seeking to push their preferred candidate Jeb Bush. Such substantive favorable opinion of candidate Trump puts the RNC/GOPe in a difficult position as they plot to begin their collective assault against the unpalatable frontrunner. But tonight the news for the Vichy Republican crowd is infinite degrees worse. As they plot the best course of Trump’s annihilation – national polls...

Martin O’Malley on the bandwagon: US should take 65,000 Syrians in 2016 Posted by Ann Corcoran on September 5, 2015 Martin O'Malley As Mayor of Baltimore, O’Malley encouraged diversity as thousands of impoverished refugees were deposited there among Baltimore’s American minority poor. https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2015/05/03/baltimore-thousands-of-impoverished-refugees-poured-into-city-in-last-ten-years-fuel-for-the-fire/ It has really been an unbelievable thing to watch—how Leftist politicians the world over are falling all over themselves to invite mostly Muslim Syrians (no mention of the persecuted Christians by O’Malley, or any of them for that matter!) to permanently move into western countries and American communities. Here (at CNN) former Open Borders Governor of Maryland...

The review process under the Corker law never began — by the law’s own terms. To undermine President Obama’s atrocious Iran deal despite the Republican-controlled Congress’s irresponsible Corker legislation, it will be necessary to follow, of all things, the Corker legislation. On Wednesday, Barbara Mikulski became the 34th Senate Democrat to announce support for the deal, which lends aid and comfort to a regime that continues to call for “Death to America.” Under the Corker Roadmap to Catastrophe, Mikulski’s assent ostensibly puts President Obama over the top. After all, the legislation sponsored by Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker...

Maryland’s largest and fastest-growing school system has registered more than 1,100 international students in recent weeks, according to newly released data that shows a drop in such enrollments compared with a year ago. Last year’s spike in Montgomery County was at least partly driven by an influx of unaccompanied minors from Central America, district officials say. The number of students from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras more than doubled compared with peak enrollment periods a year earlier, according to district figures. Montgomery’s new figures, for July 1 to Aug. 22, show that about 160 of the 1,110 international students recently...

Former Gov. Martin O'Malley is calling for the United States to accept at least 65,000 Syrian refugees by the end of next year. O'Malley, a Democratic candidate for president, made the statements after reports of the deaths of a Syrian woman and her two sons who drowned during a voyage from Turkey to Greece, in attempt to escape the war-ravaged nation. Images of the 3-year-old boy's body washed up on a beach, and other images of hundreds trying to board trains in Hungary, have focused world attention on the desperate wave of migration. "The images of poor Aylan Kurdi's body...

Grayson, KY – Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, will join supporters at a rally outside the Carter County Detention Center on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. ET.  The “I’m with Kim” Rally is organized by Gov. Mike Huckabee. Liberty Counsel is willing to join any group that stands in support of Kim Davis. “Not long ago 75 percent of Kentuckians passed the state’s marriage amendment. Today a Christian is imprisoned for believing what the voters affirmed, that marriage is between a man and a woman,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Five people on the...

Well, I’ve said it a million times: The anchorman of CBS News should attend Democratic fundraisers (as happened). The Supreme Court reporter of the New York Times, a.k.a. the paper of record, should march in abortion-rights rallies (as happened). And PBS news figures should be open partisans. Yesterday, when Senator Barbara Mikulski declared for the Iran deal, meaning that this deal could not be blocked by the Senate, Gwen Ifill spiked the football. “Take that, Bibi,” she tweeted. Aha! Good one, Gwen! The PBS ombudsman has written about this matter disapprovingly. I’m not sure I disapprove. What I disapprove of...

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said on Friday that he will oppose the Iran nuclear deal, making him the third Senate Democrat to come out against the agreement. "This is a close call, but after a lengthy review, I will vote to disapprove the deal," he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. "The JCPOA legitimizes Iran's nuclear program. After 10 to 15 years, it would leave Iran with the option to produce enough enriched fuel for a nuclear weapon in a short time." The opposition of Cardin — the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — is a setback...

LA PLATA, Md. — Police in La Plata say a 20-year-old man has been charged after he tweeted about killing “all the white people” in the town. Charles Hollins was charged on Wednesday with making a threat of mass violence. He’s being held on $250,000 bond. Online court records do not list an attorney for him. According to police, the tweet read, “TONIGHT WE PURGE! KILL ALL THE WHITE PPL IN THE TOWN OF LA PLATA.” Police say it was posted on Wednesday afternoon. The account that posted the message appears to have been deleted. Hollins, who is black, was...

Maryland resident Carlos Anthony Hollins has been arrested and charged for allegedly issuing deadly threats against La Plata residents via his personal Twitter account. “IM NOT GONNA STAND FOR THIS NO. MORE. TONIGHT WE PURGE ! KILL ALL THE WHITE PPL IN THE TOWN OF LAPLATA. #BLACKLIVESMATTER,” Hollins’ now-suspended Twitter account read.

Facing a congressional subpoena, a former State Department staffer connected to Hillary Clinton's private email server has decided to invoke his Fifth Amendment right. Attorneys for Bryan Pagliano, a former State Department staffer who received a subpoena to testify and provide documents to the House Select Committee, wrote the committee notifying Committee chairman, Trey Gowdy that Pagliano would plead the fifth. Gowdy wants Pagliano to appear before the Benghazi Committee to provide documents “related to the servers or systems” operated and owned by Clinton. Mr. Pagliano’s legal counsel told the committee on Tuesday that he would plead the 5th to...

A man who allegedly tweeted a threatening remark against La Plata residents Wednesday afternoon was taken into custody at about 8:47 p.m. without incident by the Charles County Sheriff's Office. Carlos Anthony, 20, of Waldorf was identified as the suspect who reportedly posted the threat of violence on Twitter by the La Plata Police Department. Twitter post stated: “IM NOT GONNA STAND FOR THIS NO. MORE. TONIGHT WE PURGE! KILL ALL THE WHITE PPL IN THE TOWN OF LA PLATA!”